


Boohoo  Cracker ;D

by spxce_shuttle



Category: Dream Team - Fandom, Minecraft - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: First Fanfiction, M/M, My writing skills suck I'm sorry, Short Chapters, be nice ;v;, dreamnotfound, mcyt - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:20:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26056351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spxce_shuttle/pseuds/spxce_shuttle
Summary: Dream, George, and Sapnap in the Minecraft world ;-;finally arriving at the point of getting to the nether, they go in with confidence and certainty that they'd be out of that hellhole as swiftly as they came in.Every step was like walking on boiling water. The three felt as if they were about to melt then and there..Spotting the fortress that they needed to be at, they noticed it was across a lava lake to their unfortunate luck. Building a bridge over it would be too risky, so instead, they begin to make their way around and across a couple of floating platforms by building oddly narrow bridges to get across. though when a ghast blows up one of their bridges, George was knocked to the other side of the bride and to the next far platform with a tumble, now leaving George separated from his friends. Now having to go different ways and find a place to meet up with no communication, anxiety, and fears are beginning to rise."We have to keep moving."WOOOO POGGERS--Crossposted from Wattpad--
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Kudos: 105





	1. Entry

Dream took a single step back from the nether portal once the last piece of obsidian was set down, sighing haughtily at what he accomplished. It was much more difficult making the portal than it looked to be. It was currently night time, settled in a cave in which Dream and his friends had set up a temporary base in until they were able to leave the portal with enough blaze rods from the nether.

Once they would be able to get to the end portal and defeat the Ender Dragon together, they could finally get out of this game-reality and live their normal lives again. No severe dangers such as the ones in Minecraft, no more having to live off of pure survival instinct, no more zombies, and skeletons walking around trying to kill them. Just back to their normal, every day lives. That would be more than amazing. Having answers to how they ended up in this game would be amazing as well, but Dream doubted they would receive any anytime soon. That's alright, though, once they leave the three of them can just pretend this was all some freaky nightmare.

Turning his head a bit to glance over his shoulder, his gaze caught his two friends, George and Sapnap, cooking the rest of the raw mutton and pork that they've collectively gathered not too long ago. Dream allowed his gaze to linger on George for a little longer than necessary before tearing his eyes away from him and slowly heading over to where their crafting table rested, picking up the diamond helmet that he previously set down on top of it.

"The portal is built, we just have to light it now and go through," Dream called over to his friends as he set the helmet on his head, making sure it didn't shift the position of his mask and make it uncomfortable to wear.

"Cool, thanks Dream!" Sapnap called back with a forced out huff as he jumped to his feet, stretching his arms out a bit. "Where'd you put the flint and steel? I want to be the one to light it up," He added, in which Dream only responded by pointing over to the large chest they had, tucked into a little crook in the stone.

As Sapnap made his way to the chest with a small smile on his face, Dream walked over to George and took a seat beside him, looking ahead to the four smokers set up in front of them which gave a source of light in their area while it cooked their food.

"You've been quiet for the past while. What's going on with you?" Dream asked as he gave a gentle nudge to George's arm, earning a quiet little laugh from the other. Dream always loved being the cause of that adorable laugh.

"Nothing, I'm just a little nervous about this I guess. We have to be careful, if we die in there, we aren't going to come back like we would if we were playing the game.." George admitted in a soft voice, staring at the furnaces in front of him as their fire slowly died out with silent crackling sounds.

Dream fell silent at that for a moment, trying to think of the best thing to say to make George feel even the slightest bit better. Going into the Nether all panicky and nervous had never ended up going well with the two of them in the past. Dream assumed it wouldn't be any better now, seeing as their actual lives were at risk here. George had a right to be nervous.

"Oh come on George, don't be like that... We've endured so much already and are doing just fine, are we not? We've got armor and weapons, loads of food- and we don't have any current injuries-" Dream hummed out as he looked over at George, offering him a soft smile, which George was quick to return. "I think we'll do just fine in the Nether."

"I guess you're right," George chuckled, though was interrupted by Sapnap calling over to them before he could say anything else.

"The portal is lit- Grab that food, George, and let's go!" Sapnap called over, excited with how the purple glow of the portal illuminated everything around it and how the little purple particles flying around it tickled his skin when it landed on him. 

George let out a soft little sigh and stood up, smiling as he pulled the cooked food out of the smokers with caution, careful not to burn himself. He then turned to Dream, offering a hand out to him. "I suppose it's time to go then. You'll stay with me, right? I don't want to be smacked off into a pool of lava," George joked a little to lighten the mood a bit.

Dream only responded with a chuckle and a nod, taking George's hand and hauling himself up to stand which made George stumble back a couple of steps from the sudden height difference catching him off guard. He still wasn't used to how tall Dream was compared to him, and it was very unfair in his opinion.

"Yes, George. We'll stay by your side, both me and Sapnap. This is a team effort." Dream spoke, damaged bow in hand as he adjusted the strap to his quiver of arrows a bit so it sat more comfortably over his shoulder.

"Thank you," George muttered with a small smile, his blue eyes staring down at the ground before grabbing his shield in his left hand and an iron axe in his right hand. He then began heading over to the portal, which had a very impatient Sapnap stood beside it. waiting for them to get their asses over.

"You're welcome, George." Dream smiled as he followed close behind, glad he was able to calm George's nerves. 

Once the two walked over, Sapnap's smile returned to his face. The three of them stepped up into the portal, closing their eyes as they allowed the portal to transfer them to the other hellish world. Sapnap could hardly contain his soft little giggles from the faint tickles of the portal particles, not even a single worry coming to him about what may await them at the other side.


	2. Split

Only a quick moment passed until they had eventually made it to the other world. Now here they were.

In the Nether.

Woohoo.

Stepping down out of the portal and onto the insignificantly heated Netherrack, Dream's jade green eyes browsed over the area they were currently standing in to get a good feel of their spawn area. quite a bit of zombified Piglins were scattered around the place, holding golden swords while the ground they were on was surrounded by a large lava lake. Dream nodded to himself as he took in these surroundings, rolling up the sleeves of his signature green hoodie since it was starting to get heated in there.

George let out a drained sigh as he instantly began to overheat. He looked to the side and adjusted the position of his clout goggles, watching Sapnap step up to the zombified piglins which were almost twice his size. He then gave a roll of his eyes, looking away again as he fanned himself with the hand that wasn't holding his shield, now gazing out across the bubbling lava lake filled with Striders. Then something almost stress-relieving caught his eye. 

"There's the fortress!" George called out, pointing over to the bricked structure of deep red across the way. 

This quickly caught the other two's attention. Dream jogged his way over to where George stood and squinted a bit, placing a hand above his eyes as if he were blocking out the non-existent sun to get a better view of where George was pointing.

"You're right, there it is- Good job George! Let's go on over and get what we need!" Dream exclaimed eagerly, ruffling up George's burgundy brown hair a bit before looking around for a way around to get to the fortress safely.

George scoffed a bit at the action, however, let out a short laugh as he attempted to fix his hair.

Sapnap walked over to the two while tucking his diamond sword behind him. He looked between Dream and George, then watched Dream take out his iron pickaxe and began to mine out a small pathway to the next platform through the wall of Netherrack. "Why can't we just build over the lava to the fortress?" Sapnap asked in a puzzled tone as him and George began to follow behind Dream through the path.

"That's too risky, Sapnap. If we fall then it's over, we're dead. Also, we don't have nearly enough blocks." Dream said, looking behind at the two other men. "Besides I promised George we'd be extra careful in here for his sake," he added with a smile, looking down at the now flushed red George before continuing the path.

Sapnap snorted a little at that and gently nudged George with his arm. "You're scared? George, come on, we're strong and we've got each other. We'll be fineee," he laughed, earning a soft scoff from George.

"Whatever," George said through a smile.

A little while of mining and building narrow bridges from platform to platform passed, and they were about halfway to their destination. 

George was currently making a cobblestone bridge to the next platform while Sapnap and Dream waited on the previous one for George to finish, as the other two had run out of blocks themselves and had both their pickaxe's break on them. They weren't following right after George either since it was too risky to cross with more than one person at a time; though George was taking a little longer than he should with his cautious and slow movements.

"come on George, hurry it up," Dream groaned out, growing impatient with how long this was taking. Plus it was ridiculously hot in here, and he wanted out.

"I'm nearly done, rela-" George started to call back to Dream, though stopped every little movement and sound when he heard the quiet sound of a ghastly whine. The three froze in shocked fear at the sound. 

George watched as a large Ghast slowly rose from behind his two other friends, his blue eyes widening. "G..G-Gh.." He stammered, struggling to speak. But Dream and Sapnap already knew what was going on.

Before any other words or directions could be said, the ghast opened its horrific maw letting out a shriek as it shot out a flaming fireball at George.

"GEORGE!!" Dream called out, extending his arm out to his friend on the bridge in hopes he could pull him away from the danger, though was pulled back by Sapnap to get a safer distance from the fireball. 

"No!" George gasped out, stepping back a bit to the very edge of the narrow bridge. He was frozen in fear, his body refusing to allow him to move any more. Fortunately for George, the fireball hit the center of the bridge rather than him- 

Unfortunately for the three of them, the fireball caused the bridge to blow up with a huge, loud, bright explosion that sent George flying back to the next platform away.

George tumbled and rolled across the steaming Netherrack until he came to a stop. Now too sore from the impact sending him flying, he could hardly find the strength to even get up. So, the small boy curled upon himself as he laid there, eyes closed tight as he bracing for another fireball to be sent his way. 

Dream wasn't going to let that happen though. He quickly pried his way out of Sapnap's hold to whip out his bow and a couple of arrows from his quiver, knocking the arrow and pulling back the string while he aimed at the ghast. He wasted no time to release and send the arrow's flying the Ghast's way, piercing the creature and causing it to let out a wailing cry each time it was hit. 

Eventually, the Ghast came crashing down into the Netherrack near Sapnap and Dream, creating a loud thud and a crater where the creature had fallen dead. Sapnap stumbled slightly from the shaken ground due to the creature falling, before he stared at the dead Ghast in complete shock.

Dream let out soft pants after releasing the breath he had been holding, quickly turning to look to George, lying curled up on the ground. "George?? George get up, please!!" Dream called, desperate to know if his friend was at least alive after that explosion. He couldn't lose one of his best friends to some stupid Ghast!

However, there was no immediate answer from the man on the other side, which sent a panic through Dream.


	3. Seperation

"George!" Dream cried out again, his voice breaking slightly as he drew near to tears. 

Sapnap was quick to turn his attention to Dream, making his way over and carefully placing a hand on the taller's shoulder. "Dream- Hey, relax- He's okay," Sapnap uttered in a low tone as he motioned over to George, who let out a quiet, troubled groan as he turned onto his back.

Dream then let out a relieved sigh, his entire body becoming instantly less tense while he slowly tucked his bow away. 

"Thank fuck..." He whispered under his shaky breath. Dream then looked around for any kind of way to get to George without falling into the lava below them, only growing tense once again when finding there wasn't one.

Sapnap noticed this as well, rather quickly actually, and took it upon himself to yell over to George.

"George! Hey dude, are you alright?" Sapnap shouted over, maybe a little louder than needed.

George responded with a rough "Yeah," as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. Sapnap nodded, then shouted over to the other again.  
"We can't get over to where you are, so we need to just split up, walk around and meet up with you near the fortress!" 

Dream furrowed his eyebrows at Sapnap's plan, turning his head back to the man with him. "What!? George can't go out by himself, he has the least amount of armor between us all! He'll get hurt so easily, or-" He halted his sentence from proceeding on, knowing his next words might panic George...And himself. "...No, Sapnap you're-" He paused for a moment, hating this plan with a passion. "You're right, we should split up." He sighed, swallowing down the lump in his throat.

George pushed his clout goggles up to rest on the top of his head, slowly but steadily rising to his feet and looking over to the other two.  
"Okay..." He replied brokenly, fear dominating his voice. 

They were supposed to stay together, the three of them.

But that couldn't be possible now, he couldn't reconstruct the bridge as he lost most of his things over the edge during the explosion.

"Okay cool, see you there George!" Sapnap called with a nervous little smile. Gently grabbing onto the rolled-up sleeve of Dream's hoodie, he practically dragged him back the way they came. They had to find some other way to get to the fortress, after all. 

Dream kept his eyes on George, watching the little blue boy begin to limp off forward until he was out of sight. He forced out a small sigh, before sucking in a sharp breath and finally tugging his sleeve out of Sapnap's hold.

"Alright, let's go find another way over," Dream muttered out, walking ahead while they walked across the netherrack.

Sapnap gave a nod and took a single glance back, shaking off the worries he had and speedwalking to keep up with the other. "Wait up dude, not all of us have long legs like you do-" He joked a bit, trying to lessen the tension between them.

He received no response from Dream, though, so he figured it was safe to assume his attempt had failed.

Now walking along a little narrow path, Dream and Sapnap were taking the long way around to the fortress. Sapnap made constant little jokes and silly comments on almost everything they passed by to try and brighten the mood, while Dream did most of the leading. 

Occasionally, Sapnap would be rewarded with being able to crack a smile out of Dream or get him to laugh. 

"God it feels like we're walking through an oven in here," Sapnap complained as he wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. He looked over the side to check how far away the fortress was from them, just to make a little estimate of how much longer they would have to walk to get there.

It seemed maybe an hour or two. He was certain they'd melt in this heat before they would even get there.

"It sure does," Dream mumbled softly, his voice barely able to be heard. Sapnap cleared his throat, letting out a small sigh as he tapped his fingers against the diamond leggings he had on.

"Dream, can we take a break? We've been walking forever," Sapnap whined out, slouching over a bit as he dragged his feet along.

"No," Dream simply answered, giving a small look back to Sapnap.

"Pweaaase? owo" Snapmap pleaded as he jogged up to walk beside Dream until his friend finally came to a halt. 

"Fine, but only for a half an hour. No longer, okay?" Dream nodded and walked over to a little area from the edge, taking a seat down on the netherrack. Sapnap did the same.

"Look, Dream- George will be okay, You know he will right?" Sapnap shifted his gaze to Dream for a few moments before looking down at his lap.

"Of course, I'm not worried Sap," Dream forced out quickly with an awkward, light chuckle. It was more than obvious that was a fat lie, Sapnap could see through Dream as if he were made of glass.

"It's okay to worry about him dude- I'm freaking out about his safety. But there's nothing we can do about it," Sapnap said as he placed a hand on Dream's shoulder, in a way to comfort his friend. "But he'll be okay." He assured though he wasn't even sure of that himself.

Dream took a deep breath and adjusted his mask so it was covering his entire face. "I know," he then spoke, letting his hands curl into slight fists. "I just...Promised to stay with him in here, I told him we'd all stick together-"

Sapnap shook his head, cutting Dream off before he could continue that thought. "Dream, relax, take a deep breath. You're not acting like yourself right now."  
Dream turned his head away from Sapnap, his chest rising and falling as he took in a couple of deep breaths as Sapnap suggested.

"Now, silence, I wanna take this time to just relax..." Sapnap said in a playful, joking tone, leaning back on the Netherrack walls with his hands behind his head, soft brown eyes falling shut for a moment.

Dream chuckled and nodded, shrugging his shoulders and leaning back a bit as well. "Whatever you say, Sap," He said softly, closing his eyes too while he tried to forget about his worries for the time being.


	4. Denial

After a couple minutes of taking a break, Dream had decided they've waited around for too long. Though before doing anything else, Dream let out a sigh while opening his inventory to bring his iron sword out. Of course, it's not his preferred weapon of choice but he didn't have much with him, unfortunately. 

He sighed and nudged Sapnap before rising to his feet, stretching out his legs in the process. "Let's go, we've waited too long. We need to go find George before something bites his head off," Dream said in a half-joking manner before heading on forward, refusing to waste time in waiting for Sapnap. 

Sapnap opened one eye, ready to protest until he saw Dream already leaving. "Wh- dude wait for me!" he scrambled to his feet, nearly tripping as he ran after Dream. 

Once he was caught up with Dream, he slowed his pace and sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. For a while it was silent, the only sounds heard being the boiling bubbles of lava and grunts of zombified piglins. Sapnap stared down at the ground, watching his diamond boots as he walked with Dream. 

He was beginning to get paranoid about what was happening with George, and it certainly was starting to make him...uncomfortable. 

Unwanted worry washed through Sapnap, causing him to slow down a bit and wrap his arms around himself. "Hey, Dream?" Sapnap asked, now looking up and at Dream ahead of him. 

"Yeah?" Dream replied, not bothering to look back.

"...Do you think he's dead?" Sapnap questioned as he came to a stop, biting down on his bottom lip. It was silent. "...Dream?-" Sapnap started until Dream interrupted. 

"George is not dead." Dream spoke rather harshly, through gritted teeth it seemed. 

"But you-" Once again cut off, Sapnap flinched back as he watched Dream turn around and snap. 

"HE IS NOT DEAD!!"

Dream's chest heaved with heavy breaths, angry tears stinging his eyes as he averted his gaze. 

He tightened his grip on the handle of his sword, before letting it hit the ground with a clatter.

He then fell to his knees, the tears now streaming down his cheeks and dripping down his chin. The tears sizzled and evaporated as they hit the soulsand they had just stepped foot on, while Sapnap stood in shock. Dream just snapped at him, and Sapnap was having trouble processing that.

Sapnap snapped out of his startled state, though, the moment he noticed Dream beginning to break. He quickly ran over and slid on his knees to seat himself beside Dream. "Hey hey- Dream it's okay,' He said rather quickly as he watched Dream's body begin to tremble, now knowing he might have just sent his friend into a bad state of mind.

Sapnap wrapped Dream up in a tight hug, squeezing his eyes shut as tears of his own began forming.

He whispered words to Dream, such as "I'm sorry", "I shouldn't have said that,", and "he's okay, you're okay.." to try and comfort the both of them. Dream sat there and let the tears run until he finally managed to force himself to return Sapnap's hug.

"h..he ca-nt be dead," he choked out through the sobs that were forcing their way out of him.

Sapnap nodded and used his sleeve to wipe the tears from his own eyes, remaining in the tight hug with Dream for as long as needed. The two sat there for a couple of minutes, maybe 10. 

Until Dream was finally calm enough to pull away from the comforting feeling of Sapnap's arms and wipe the tears from his bright red cheeks. "I'm sorry, that.." He paused, before continuing with a voice crack. "That was unnecessary, I shouldn't have yelled like that.." He sighed, shaking his head in disapproval of his actions.

Sapnap smiled a little and let out a shuddery chuckle, slowly rising to his feet and offering a hand to Dream. "It's fine...I shouldn't have put that thought in your head anyway," he laughed reluctantly, averting his gaze.

Dream nodded while taking Sapnap's hand and standing up, pushing his sleeves up his arms further before he crouched down and picked up the iron sword he dropped onto the ground. "Let's...just hurry up and find George already," Dream said with a clear of his throat. "we wasted too much time already..."

Sapnap gave a nod of agreeance and the two started their way forward once more, this time much slower considering they were now walking through nothing but soulsand.  
It was silent.

No words, no silly comments, nothing.

Just silence, as peaceful as it gets in this hot, hellish dimension. 

Eventually, the two stopped at the faint sound of a high pitched, broken scream in the distance.

Dream perked up, instantly knowing who that scream belonged to. "George!" He gasped out, then picked up to a run to try and move along faster.  
George was in danger and he was not going to just sit around any longer.

Sapnap blinked and ran after Dream, almost slipping on the soulsand. "Dream! Wait up- you can't just run off!" He called to his much faster friend, huffing under his breath in frustration. "DREAM! Come on!!"

Dream still made no effort to stop. How could he? 

Another one of George's screams rang out through the open area, making Dream quicken his pace the moment he reached netherrack again. Looking around in a desperate attempt to find George anywhere nearby, he clenched his hands into tight fists. 

"Please..." He whispered under his breath, though slowed down when there was no longer any screams.

The British boy was nowhere to be seen. Nowhere to be heard, no more signs of him. 

God. Fucking. Damn it.

Dream came to a stop. 

Sapnap finally managed to catch up to Dream, panting heavily as he tried to regain breath. "P...Please w-warn me next time you run off.." He wheezed out, placing a hand over his chest while looking around. "D...Did you find him..?"

Sapnap looked up at Dream, watching his blank yet distraught expression on his face. 

"...Dream?"


	5. Hide

Without another word said by the Big Green Man, Dream turned and resumed their walk toward the fortress. 

Sapnap furrowed his eyebrows in concern for his best friend, though let out a sigh before going silent as well, following Dream along the platform of Netherrack.  
"Dream, it's okay...We'll find him, okay?" Sapnap tried to assure once again, though Dream stayed silent. Sapnap let out a small groan and nodded, looking to the side. 

"I'm worried too, dude," Sapnap added quietly, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. 

\------

George let out moderately heavy pants as he sprinted forward, trying desperately to get away from two very angry Endermen that he accidentally made eye contact with. He wasn't moving very fast, being a pretty slow runner and all- but he thankfully had some distance between him and the tall black figures that possessed furious purple eyes. Of course, he wished he could do more than just a jog, but as long as he wasn't having his head ripped off by these creatures, this worked for him.

He was covered in injuries and mild burns, none of which were all too serious. Most were just caused by falls, being scratched by objects and corners of blocks, running into fire's, and burning his bare arms against the ground. He was sure some of these injuries would leave scars, but that's alright. Just proof that he was strong enough to survive- if he ever does make it out of this alive. 

His clout goggles were askew on his bright red face, starting to slip off due to the sweat dripping from his face. He was running out of breath, and his stomach was continuously growling loudly at him- demanding to be fed.

He sucked in a faint gasp of air as he saw a convenient two-block tall hole in the netherrack wall not too far from him. He needed to get there to at least just sit for a while and heal up if he could- hopefully get around to checking how his status was doing as well. He felt as if he were low on health, and he wouldn't be surprised if he was. Besides, he needed a safe place to sit and eat. That is if he had any food on him, which he was praying he did.

George bit down on his chapped and cut up bottom lip, nearly drawing more blood from the flesh while doing so. He took in a shaky inhale, now running into the cramped up space in the wall in hopes of either being saved or being able to sit and wait until the Endermen lose interest. Pressing his back to the heated wall, he felt it beginning to burn his skin through his shirt, though that was the least of his concerns at the moment.

George stared in horror at the Endermen trying to get to him, taking out his very much damaged shield and placing it in front of him on the ground, skulking behind it. He was powerless in this situation- He had no pickaxe to dig further, and no blocks to barricade himself in..Except, the crafting table he had in his inventory. 

In a panic, George pulled up his inventory and shakily moved the crafting table into his hands, having to set his shield down for a moment for this. He then quickly placed the crafting table down in front of him, blocking off half of the way of the entrance, now praying to whatever God might be out there that this block of wood wouldn't catch fire.  
George grabbed his shield once more and placed it back in front of him, for extra safety.

George let out quick, shuddered breaths, feeling his heart pounding aggressively in his chest. He couldn't believe he was still alive, and with every limb still attached. His throat stung badly from the couple of screams he let out earlier, and his entire body ached, but there wasn't much he could do about it right now. 

He slid down the wall to sit on the ground, letting his head rest back against the wall behind him as a whine left him.

George pulled up his stats, his body tension rising as he saw he was on three hearts.

His hunger was down pretty low as well, and he had no food in his inventory. Clearly, the Gods didn't hear his prayers. Now he was going to die without even telling Dream how he felt about him.

Fuck, what is he supposed to do now?

George wanted to burst into tears at that very moment from all the pain and panic he felt, wanting nothing more than to just find Dream and Sapnap and never leave their side again.

Eventually, the sounds of raging Endermen faded out and George was left in suffocating silence. 

Eventually, George gave in and let tears pool in his dark brown eyes, letting a few roll down his puffed and scratched up cheeks.  
This was the end for him, wasn't it?

\------

Dream and Sapnap were growing nearer to the fortress now, only about an hour-long walk to get there now. Dream was carrying Sapnap on his back after Sapnap idiotically sprained his ankle. Now, Dream was moving slower than before with the extra weight on him.

This admittedly frustrated him.

"Sorry for making you carry me," Sapnap said softly, looking around at the not so pretty scenery as they walked. 

" 's fine," Dream replied, falling silent once again.

God, this place felt like an oven- and Dream was overheating with the hoodie on and mask over his face. There wasn't any time to stop and take them off now, though.  
George needed them.

"We're almost there at least," Sapnap spoke up after a while, just trying to ease the mood. "Then when we meet up, we can have a group hug, and then we can patch ourselves up and get the blaze rods- And then head ho-"

"I get it, Sapnap." Dream barked, tightening his grip on Sapnap's legs to secure him on his back. "Just...Quiet down. Please."

"Sorry," Sapnap gave a nod to show he understood, before falling silent again. 

Dream sighed as he watched the fortress in the distance, hoping George was already there safe and sound. And if he was, he hoped George was smart enough to stay away from the place before him and Sapnap arrived.

Who knows what the withering effect would do to them.

If either of them run into a Wither Skeleton and get the effect, it could be Game Over for them.


	6. Discovery

After another half an hour of walking, Dream could no longer carry Sapnap on his back and was forced into yet another break.

This, of course, was unfortunate. Not only for both of them, but for George as well.

Sapnap sat down on the netherrack with his back to the crimson bark of a huge fungus tree, strayed away from the crimson forest nearby. He let out a small grunt, leaning forward and gently massaging his sprained ankle with his two thumbs, looking up to the pacing Dream, who was trying to think of a quicker way to get to where George might be.

"Dream, buddy, sit down and rest your muscles- We've been walking for so long and your body looks like it's begging you to rest for a bit," Sapnap called to Dream.

Dream let out a heavy sigh and gave a reluctant nod, knowing Sapnap was right. He should be saving his energy as much as possible. He slowly walked over to the Huge Fungus tree, resting his back against the bark and sliding down to sit next to Sapnap. Reluctantly, Dream slid the mask off of his face, exposing the freckles sprinkled across the soft, pale skin on the bridge of his nose. He then rested the surprisingly durable porcelain in his lap. 

"God, he's going to be dead before we can even get to him.." Dream held his head in his hands, letting his fingers tangle in his dirty blonde hair. Sapnap shook his head and placed his hand on Dream's back, giving a slow rub up and down to attempt in comforting his friend once more. "Come on, Dream...You know that's not going to happen, he'll be okay- How many times do I need to reassure you?"

Dream didn't answer, just closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. 

Though both of their heads were shot up in alarm when they heard the sound of a Ghast firing a fireball nearby. Looking around in a panic, Sapnap desperately tried to find where the ghast was. Quickly enough, Sapnap saw the ghast a bit away, barely visible through fog of the Basalt Delta biome on the other platform across from the two of them. Though it was clear that the Ghast wasn't aiming for either of them, but rather something else located in the Basalt Delta.

Once this registered through Dream's mind, he rose to his feet without taking his eyes off of the Ghast, his mask falling out of his lap and onto the ground with a soft thud. "But Ghasts only..." He trailed off, trying to think of an explanation for what was happening.

Until it finally hit him.

"George!!" Dream gasped, immediately starting to sprint towards the Basalt Delta without giving it another thought.

Sapnap blinked in confusion. "Dream- what the hell, wait! What about me?!" He grunted as he grabbed onto a crimson vine hanging off of the Huge Fungus, pulling himself onto his armored feet. He stumbled a bit due to his sprained ankle, tightening his hold around the vine as he watched Dream run into the lilac tinted fog. 

"Jesus- Dream!! Come back!" He called out to his friend, though gave up soon enough when he realized Dream had run off too far to hear.

Sapnap let out a slightly frustrated groan and slid back down against the tree, sucking in a deep inhale. Now he just had to sit tight and wait for Dream to come back. Hopefully, that wouldn't take too long, cause now the silence and emptiness of the area around him was beginning to get a bit uncomfortably eerie.

Dream continued to run, jumping over a small gap in the ground that dropped to a lava pool. He stumbled a bit after his landing, though quickly regained balance and continued his sprint.

As he grew closer, his pace slowed, green eyes narrowing in both confusion and disappointment when what he saw wasn't George, but instead an armorless boy playing ping pong with the Ghast's fireball.

Light brown bangs poking out from a black hood with red framing and a checkered turtle neck underneath, a brown shoulder strap over top to hold the diamond sword currently in the male's hands.

"..Darryl..??" Dream questioned in surprise, now jogging over to the little cobblestone barrier BadBoyHalo had made. 

Bad's attention was quickly grabbed, looking over at Dream running towards him. "Dream!!" Bad gasped, taking cover under the cobblestone barrier and instantly losing the interest of the Ghast. He slipped his diamond sword back into the shoulder strap. "I knew I'd find you here!!" He let out a breathy, relieved laugh, throwing his arms around Dream in a tight embrace.

"What- What are you doing here??" Dream was quick to return the hug, arms wrapped around the other tight before pulling away to look Bad up and down.

"I don't know- I just woke up here and I came across a portal already built- so I assumed you might've been here too and oh my goodness I'm so glad you are!!" Bad smiled brightly, tears of relief forming in his lime green eyes.

Dream took a shuddery breath, feeling his entire body tense up at Bad's next question.  
"Are George and Sapnap here too?"

A silence fell between the two. Bad began to feel as if that might not have been the right thing to ask. "I'm, sorry-" Bad tried to apologize before the silence got any more awkward, though cut himself off at the end as Dream took Bad's wrist into his hand.

"Just follow me...I'll explain to you what's going on once we go get Sapnap." Dream spoke in a shaky tone, starting to walk back the way he had came through the Basalt Delta.

"Oh- So Sapnap is here!" Bad exclaimed as he followed, though wasn't sure if he should be celebrating or not.

"Yeah."

The two finally got back to where Dream had left Sapnap. Dream released his hold on Bad's wrist and cleared his throat to grab his other friend's attention, feeling like he's close to crying.

Sapnap looked over quickly with a playful scoff. "Glad you're back- maybe don't run-" He stopped, his face falling as he looked Bad up and down. He blinked, rubbed his eyes, and looked Bad up and down once more. It was clear on his face that he was hoping Bad wasn't there- but unfortunately, he was. He was here with them, in this awful place full of danger.

"..Bad?"


	7. ~close~

"What are you doing here??" Sapnap asked in a hurried tone, his posture straightening up a bit. "Are you hurt?" He added quickly after, looking Bad up and down for any visible injuries. 

"I could ask you guys the same thing!" Bad piped with a slightly awkward laugh, walking over and taking a seat beside Sapnap. "And no, I'm alright for the most part," He winced a little at the uncomfortably warm feeling of the netherrack, but it wasn't anything Bad couldn't handle. It was just a little heat he's been through worse. "Are you two doing okay?"

Sapnap tensed at the question a little, which Bad quickly caught on. Something was wrong, that's for sure. It was as clear as glass, the expressions the both of them had.  
"I'm fine, just sprained my ankle a little bit," Sapnap finally answered, clearing his throat afterward. "And Dream..." He trailed off, sharing a look with Dream for a moment before Dream broke the eye contact, looking off to the side.

"...He's doing, well- the best he possibly can be, I suppose."

While Bad wanted to poke at the situation some more and figure out what seemed to be bothering the both of them, he just nodded. He was sure he'd find out eventually when the others were ready to talk about it. There wasn't any point in forcing the answer out of them and making things possibly worse, after all. It just bothered him to see his friends so upset. It was clear on their faces that something must not be going right.

"Hey, where's George?" Bad asked to change the subject. He looked around- it couldn't have just been Sapnap and Dream here. George had to have come through too. There's no way they'd send the dream team into the Minecraft world without George.

There was an uncomfortable silence, and Bad grew confused why he didn't receive an immediate answer like he assumed he'd get. "...Guys?" 

"George got split from us. He's out there somewhere by himself, and we're just wasting time standing here," Dream spoke in a bitter tone before sucking in a deep breath.

Bad's pure white eyes widened a little. "What? Oh no- we have to go find him!" He exclaimed, quickly scrambling to his feet. 

"Yeah. That's what we've been trying to do," Dream sighed and pulled his mask back over his face, looking away.   
Bad frowned and looked to Sapnap for any advice on what to say. Sapnap just shrugged, holding out his hand to Bad in hopes he'd help him stand- in which he did.

"...well, let's head off again, I suppose. We're so close to the fortress, aren't we?" Sapnap hummed out, slinging his arm around Bad's shoulders and leaning against him for support.

"That sounds like a good idea! The sooner we find him, the better! And we can heal him up if he's gotten hurt-" Bad chimed, making sure he had a secure hold around Sapnap.   
The two looked over to Dream, who wasn't responding. He seemed to be in his little world, caught up in his thoughts. 

Sapnap frowned a little, worried for his friend. "Dream," He spoke, trying to get his attention.   
"Dream!" He repeated in a louder tone when he received no response the first time.

Dream finally snapped out of it and looked to the other two as if he had forgotten where he was.  
"...What..? Oh- right, yes, let's go find him, please," Dream spoke with a clear of his throat, voice muffled from behind the mask.

Without any further words, Dream began moving ahead, Bad and Sapnap following slowly behind. They tried to keep up as fast as they could, but Sapnap's sprained ankle made it difficult.

\------

George slowly limped through an open area, dragging a nearly broken shield behind him. It left two thin scuff marks along the netherrack due to the corners of the shield dragging along the ground.

The fortress was just a couple of blocks ahead of him. He could make it. Of course, he could. He could see the entrance of the fortress. It couldn't be that hard.  
He was exhausted, in pain, and he felt like every inch of his body was loaded with bruises and burn marks, cuts, and scratches. Which it technically was. George had been pretty roughed up.

The fortress was right there. Dream and Sapnap might already be there, too. He couldn't give up now, he just had to keep going, but George could barely keep himself from blacking out and fainting right then and there. The heat was making everything so much worse, too. It made him dizzy and lightheaded, it made his breathing all messed up, and it made his wounds sting.

Eventually, There was a soft thud that echoed through the open area. George collapsed onto the ground, his badly damaged axe falling out of his hand on the way down. It clashed against the ground and shattered in half. His eyes squinted as he stared ahead at the blurry fortress in front of him. It was so close. He reached out, arm shaking before it fell against the netherrack.

He wasn't able to pull through like he yearned to. And now, as the most expected result, George would die in this state. There were too many dangers around for him to survive in a place like this.

There were so many awful situations that could occur in this vulnerable state, so George was lucky he was barely conscious to think about it all right now.  
He wanted Dream back, and he wanted to have a feeling of security and comfort with him again. But who knew how far away his friends were. 

He was sure they were searching for him, though. No way they could've just- turned and left for the portal- and if they were at the fortress already, they'd see him surely and come running. Then they'd go back to the overworld. No doubt about it, they cared about him- Dream and Sapnap both cared about him. He was sure of it, and he cared about both of them more than anything.

George's eyelids grew heavy, and they soon fell shut. His shuddery breaths became quieter, just barely there.

'I'm sorry.'


End file.
